BYE, BYE #3 TEXAS, #4 UVa
ABILENE, OHIO PULL OFF STUNNING 1ST-ROUND UPSETS
ABILENE CHRISTIAN 53
TEXAS 52
Abilene Christian, a tiny Texas school that has been in Division I for only the past eight years and had never won an NCAA Tournament game, stunned Texas 53-52 in Saturday’s first round of the NCAA East Region in Indianapolis.
It was the third upset in this NCAA Tournament by a No.13 seed over a No.4.
“Little old Abilene Christian out of West Texas went toe-to-toe with Texas,’’ Abilene Christian coach Joe Golding said. “We were the worst Division I team in the country and now we just beat the University of Texas. It’s an incredible story. It’s what March is about, man. It’s magical.’’
Golding’s team now plays No. 11 seed UCLA, which upset BYU on Saturday.
The final seconds were scintillating, climaxed by the two free throws Abilene Christian’s Joe Pleasant sank with 1.2 seconds remaining in the game to secure the victory.
Pleasant is the son of former NFL defensive lineman Anthony Pleasant, who played for 14 seasons, including time with the Jets and winning a Super Bowl with the Patriots.
Abilene Christian watched a four-point lead with 70 seconds remaining evaporate when Texas’ Andrew Jones made two free throws with 56.1 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 51-49 and then, after an Abilene Christian turnover, Jones buried a 3-pointer to give the Longhorns a 52-51 lead with 14.6 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, on the final possession, Pleasant rebounded a blocked shot and was fouled on the putback with 1.2 seconds remaining.
In an odd twist, Pleasant is Abilene Christian’s best 3-point shooter, but worst free throw shooter, carrying a shaky 59-percent average.
After a timeout, he stood at the line, stared at the rim for what seemed like an eternity and calmly made both free throws to give his school its biggest victory in program history.